Tidworth Garrison is all set for change as it bids farewell to its current Garrison Commander, Col Carron Snagge.

Following more than two years of service in the community, Col Snagge has proved both a popular and important character; often seen attending a variety of events across both the military and civilian community.

Col Snagge chatting to Castledown Radio's Baz Reilly

As Chairman of the Tidworth Community Area Partnership, Col Snagge has played a crucial role in the process of community development.

Now aged 54, Col Snagge is leaving the forces and is due to take up a new post as chief executive for the Reserve Forces and Cadets Association in Greater London.

His inpending departure takes place after the Easter period, where by Col Richard Aubrey-Fletcher will take over as the new Garrison Commander. 

Click here to listen to a full interview with Baz Reilly at Castledown Radio, or scroll down to read the Col's farewell statement.

When I arrived in the Garrison, I was enormously impressed by what had been achieved by my predecessors and what was planned for me to take on.  Now that I am going, perhaps it is a good time to take stock, to review what has happened over the last two years and to take a glimpse into the future.

Project Allenby has been looming ever since I arrived and frustratingly has only very slowly got closer.  However, I am very confident that, by the time most people will be reading this, MOD will have signed the contract.  In the meantime, we have already started the pre-contract demolitions for 2 RTR’s arrival in Summer 07, which is allowing us to test many of our contract management systems.  The next six years are going to be difficult with the Garrison inundated with contractors and, no doubt, the operational tempo continuing unabated.   However, Lucknow Barracks and the Demonstrator in Perham Down show what life will be like for single soldiers and in the end, it will be worth the aggravation.

2 R Welsh were extremely lucky when they arrived in the Garrison just over a year ago in that not only did they occupy the most modern barracks in the British Army but many of their families also moved into brand new families’ accommodation.  Plans are now under way for another 350 new houses in Tidworth and there is also some hope that the old stock in Bulford will be replaced and additional new houses will be built there.  Meanwhile, we are continuing to badger Defence Estates Housing Directorate to sort out the MODern Housing Solutions contract to make sure that our houses are maintained properly.

In partnership with other agencies we have also been concentrating on facilities outside the wire and two new civilian medical surgeries now mean that NHS primary care and dental facilities in Tidworth are as good as our own!  The arrival of Tesco some time next year will no doubt continue to be contentious but should also be the catalyst that transforms Station Road into the sort of shopping centre that this Garrison deserves.  At the same time, there is reasonable confidence that at last the old “Roadhouse” site on Pennings Road and Zouch Market will be developed into something more respectable.  There are also a number of other community projects in train, for example to provide a community resource centre, an auditorium and better entertainment facilities.

On the sporting front, we have continued to improve the TLC and all our other facilities.  I am delighted that the project to establish the Tidworth Equitation Centre in the Walled Garden at Tedworth House is now under way with some reasonable funding behind it and a strong project management team to steer it.  With the 2012 Olympics on the horizon plans are coming together to make sure that the Garrison gets involved and we will certainly have some excellent facilities to offer visiting teams.

I am delighted to say that relations with all the local government agencies that support us continue to flourish.  They are proud of what we do on operations and have done an enormous amount to support the vast range of services that we rely upon, for example; public transport, schools, adult learning, retail, entertainment and leisure.  They also acknowledge that we are different from other communities and certainly deserve to have a fair return for the council tax that we all pay.  The difficulty of course is that they are as much constrained by resources as the MOD is.  But, by working together, there is no doubt that we can achieve so much more than we can in isolation.

We have also hosted a number of other, non-military events in the Garrison.  Not only do these help put Tidworth, Netheravon and Bulford on the map and give the Army good publicity but they also help us to anchor our position in society and can make good money.  The TLC provides an excellent venue for many very varied events and our sporting facilities are much sought after.  Another good example is the concerts in the Garrison Theatre, which are thoroughly enjoyed by patrons far and wide and make very valuable contributions to the Garrison Welfare fund.  This Summer we will be hosting the Rundle Cup again and the Tidworth Area Festival for the first time.  I am convinced that there is potential to do much more of this sort of thing and in particular, we hope to revive the Tidworth Horse Trials.  The trick is to attract good sponsorship to take the financial risk and to get someone else to do the dirty work!

Meanwhile both brigades and all the units that Garrison Headquarters supports have been as busy as ever.  I just hope that when you do deploy on operations or training you are confident that those left behind will be well looked after and that when you come back the facilities offered by the Garrison will have continued to improve.  I think we have already made large strides towards making this garrison the “posting of first choice” and in the next few years there is the potential for much more.  With the end of arms plot moves this is more important than ever.

Finally, I would just like to congratulate everybody who contributes to the life of the Garrison in some voluntary way.  Some of the fund raising projects are quite remarkable and, apart from the facts that they make money for charity and are good for the Army’s image, they are normally enormous fun for spectators and participants.  Garrison Headquarters will always help anyone who needs advice and support for a new idea.